Portrait For NHS Heroes

Louise has recently revealed her first-ever Zoom portrait, which she completed during lockdown as part of the #nhsportraitsforheroes campaign. The portrait is of the preeminent Intensive Care Consultant Jim Down, a consultant in charge of critical care at the ICU at University College Hospital through the peak of the Covid-19 crisis in April this year. Jim is one of the doctors with the most hands on experience of Covid-19 in the country.

 

Jim has been interviewed several times by the BBC firstly in 2006 when he announced the death of Alexander Litvinenko from polonium poisoning, then more recently during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Jim and his team’s experience of the peak of the crisis were poignantly described in Edward Docx article in The New Statesman (see link).https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2020/05/peak

 

The NHS Portraits for Heroes campaign is the brainchild of Tom Croft, a fellow BP Portrait Award finalist.

 

Due to social distancing restrictions sittings had to take place over Zoom. Louise comments: "I would normally insist on live sittings but due to social distancing restrictions these had to take place via Zoom meetings. I was able to catch some time with Jim in late May when things had quietened down in the ICU”.

 

The portrait required 4 sittings of 60-90 minutes each.  Jim commented, ‘‘It would never have crossed my mind to have a portrait done, but in the end I really enjoyed it. Chatting over zoom about things unrelated to the hospital was a great way to wind down and the result is extra-ordinary. I am in awe.”